Kansas City's public schools have been unaccredited since 2012, and the district last month requested an upgrade to provisional accreditation. Superintendent R. Stephen Green pointed to stable finances and improvement on school performance reports.

The State Board of Education took no action on the request during a meeting Tuesday. State Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro previously recommended the board keep Kansas City as unaccredited.

The difference between unaccredited and provisionally accredited can be significant. For example, Missouri law requires unaccredited districts to pay the costs of students who choose to transfer to other districts. A court case over possible student transfers from Kansas City was argued this month before the Missouri Supreme Court.

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